Again
by madjude
Summary: "You shouldn't be so trusting, you know." Warren had once told her that there was a specific part of the brain that responded to fear, it felt overworked today.


DISCRETION ADVISED: this story contains blood, violence, murder, suicide, sexual/rape implications, psycho characters, a ton of swearing etc. Grahamfield pairing (kinda).

 **Again**

The bell dismissing classes from first period finally rang. Max was already mentally done with the day; she couldn't believe that there were still four more periods to go. At least it was Friday, she thought to herself, swinging her satchel over her shoulder and making her way to the door. As she pulled it open the passing chatter of the students in the corridor washed over the room, it was busier than usual. She immediately shoved her headphones into her ears as though it were a reflex. Despite never being a fan of being in a crowd, Max couldn't help but smile to herself; after all the work she had put into her portfolio to get into Blackwell Academy, even the mundane act of walking down the hall held a certain satisfaction for her. As she continued down the hall she let her eyes fall to the linoleum floor and watched her muddy sneakers treading cautiously, her headphones began to blare out a heavy rock song that she was indifferent to but couldn't be bothered to change. Someone's shoulders brushed passed her own, if whoever walked into her apologised she didn't hear it. It happened again, though this time more aggressively. It was enough to make her look up and turn around to see the pompous smirk of Victoria looking back at her before turning and walking away with her loyal followers. Max would have felt bad for her being such a tired cliché if she wasn't such a bitch. The music paused while her phone chimed, and she forced it out of her back pocket.

Chloe: _Can you do me a favour and kick David in the balls next time you see him?_

Max rolled her eyes: she didn't want to be a part of Chloe's never ending family drama. She thought that Chloe and her step-dad were being civil now, apparently she was wrong. She put her phone back in her pocket without replying and the music started up again, the volume startled her, making her jump slightly. She smirked at her own stupidity and turned the volume back down.

She looked up again when she knew she was approaching her locker and was un-surprised to see Warren casually leaning next to it, looking at something on his phone. They'd been on a total of two dates: Max was still unsure about whether they had a romantic future or not; seeing him as more than a friend was an idea she hadn't quite gotten used to, but at the same time seeing him as just a friend didn't seem right anymore either. She really did like him though, she knew that much. His eyes brightened when he saw her, as they always did. It astounded her that she was able to have that effect on anyone.

"Mad Max!" he greeted with a grin, swinging his bag off his shoulder and rooting around inside. It suddenly occurred to her that he was probably returning her copy of _Brave New World._ "I finished it last night," He said as he handed the book back.

"And? What did you think?"

"Not my favourite dystopian novel, but still pretty wild." he laughed, "Thanks, it was definitely worth the read."

"You're welcome." she smiled, "You have open access to my library as long as I have access to yours."

"But of course!" he grinned again, boyish and genuine. "I have to get going to English, but I'll see you at lunch?"

"Sure."

He gave her a wave and turned away, bumping into some girl as soon as he did. Smooth, as ever.

She had a study period next; she would have used it as an excuse to kick back for an hour but she had too much to do. Opening her locker she eyed the permanent smiles of the childhood versions of herself and Chloe, along more recent photos of Warren and Kate. You needed to be special to make it into her locker. She rid her bag of all the books and loose papers she had acquired in her last class and made her way towards the main doors. People around her were walking at different speeds. Some were late and some were early for wherever they were going, causing a suffocating chaos. She found herself wondering if there'd be a day in the distant future when she'd come back and pretend to walk through the hall like this again. She wondered if that would be nostalgic for her. It didn't matter: she'd be doing this again.

* * *

Max walked down the hall, the faces of her peers passing like a blur. It was busy, she could tell, even though her head was cast downwards and all she could see through her dishevelled strands of hair were the muddy tips of her sneakers. Her headphones blared out a heavy metal song that didn't seem to have any coherent rhythm or lyrics, but sounded like knives grinding in her ears. She wasn't even sure she knew the song, maybe Chloe had dowloaded it at some point? She winced as though she could feel it, the sharp notes scratching the inside of her head, but changing it didn't occur to her. Someone's shoulders brushed passed her own, if whoever walked into her apologised she didn't hear it. It happened again, though this time more aggressively, like someone had grabbed her by the shoulder and pushed their nails deep into her skin, but quickly in passing. Her head snapped up and she was greeted with the pompous smirk of Victoria, who flipped her off before walking away with her posse. Max reached up and defensively stroked her shoulder.

"What the fuck...?" Max murmured under her breath. She would have felt bad for Victoria being such a tired cliché if she wasn't such a vicious bitch, but this was they first time she had actually laid a hand on Max. The music paused while her phone chimed, and she forced it out of her back pocket.

Chloe: _Fucking stab step-dick next time you see the fucker._

Max narrowed her eyes at the screen, reading the humourless text over a couple of times. What did David do to make her so mad? Maybe Chloe would explain later, maybe if it was really bad David would explain. She wasn't going to stab anyone though: her loyalty to Chloe had a limit. She put her phone back in her pocket without replying and the music started up again, loud enough to make her gasp and rip her headphones out of her ears. She quickly paused the song and peered at the earpieces. There wasn't much, but she could see blood. She peered at the screen to see what the hell the song was and some impossible to read pointy logo looked back at her. She put her headphones away, thinking she'd ask Chloe about it later.

She spied her locker and was un-surprised to see Warren casually leaning next to it, looking at something on his phone. His eyes brightened when he saw her, as they always did. It astounded her that she was able to have that effect on anyone.

"Mad Max!" he greeted with a grin, swinging his bag off his shoulder and rooting around inside. It suddenly occurred to Max that he was probably returning her copy of _Brave New World._ "I finished it last night," He said as he handed it back.

"And? What did you think?"

"Fucking incredible. Definitely my new favourite of the genre." he laughed, "Thank you so much for letting me read it."

"You're welcome." she smiled, "You have open access to my library as long as I have access to yours."

"But of course!" he grinned again, boyish and genuine. "I have to get going to English, but I'll see you at lunch?"

"Sure." she smiled back, but her face suddenly fell. Maybe Warren could tell her something about her ears; he was the smart kind of nerd after all. "Oh, wait, can I ask you a potentially weird question, Dr Graham?" Warren had already begun to pull away but stopped in his tracks, narrowly avoiding a small girl who was dipping through the crowd.

"Is anything wrong?" he asked. She shook her head.

"Well no, not really. I was just wondering if it was possible for loud music to make your ears bleed?" He frowned at her.

"You were 'just wondering'?"

"Well... Look..." she began to pull her headphones out of her pocket before pausing, "You're not grossed out by blood are you?" He just laughed and took them out of her hands, peering at them closely. He frowned again.

"If you had a ruptured eardrum you'd definitely know." he gave them back, "Do your ears hurt?"

"No. Not now, still ringing though."

"I'm guessing it's probably a cut or something that got irritated by the earbuds, but I'd go to the nurse so they can have a proper look."

"I'll do that now, I have a study period." she nodded, "Thank you, Doctor." she said, saluting, making him laugh a little.

"You're welcome. See you later." And with that, he swivelled round and walked away.

Opening her locker she glanced at the photos she kept in there; never failing to make her smile. She began to rid her bag of all the books and loose papers she had acquired in her last class, but something made her peer closer at the faces of her friends. All of their eyes had been scratched out, the only ones left intact were her own. Chloe, Kate and Warren's eyeless smiles looked back at her, making them seem like soul-less strangers and not the people she held closest to her heart. As she continued to stare, the smiles seemed to morph into toothy grimaces, like they were baring their teeth instead of smiling for a photo. Who knew the combination to her locker? Who would do something so mean and twisted? She looked around: no-one seemed to notice her distress. Sombrely closing her locker she started walking towards the nurse's office. People around her were walking at different speeds. Some were late and some were early for wherever they were going, causing a suffocating chaos. She found herself wondering if there'd be a day in the distant future when she'd come back and pretend to walk through the hall like this again. She wondered if that would be nostalgic for her. It didn't matter: she'd be doing this again.

* * *

Max walked down the hall, the faces of her peers passing like a blur. It was busy, she could tell, even though her head was cast downwards and all she could see through her dishevelled strands of hair were the bloody tips of her sneakers. She couldn't remember why exactly it was, but her feet were saturated in red. She glanced backwards to see her footprints: glistening scarlet under the fluorescent lights. It didn't seem to be bothering anyone. Was this normal? She couldn't remember. She was feeling strange, kind of nauseous. Her headphones blared out a heavy metal song that didn't seem to have any coherent rhythm or lyrics, but sounded like knives grinding in her ears. She wasn't even sure she knew the song, maybe Chloe had dowloaded it at some point? She winced as though she could feel it, the sharp notes scratching the inside of her head, digging deeper and deeper into her brain; she desperately wanted to change it but her fists felt glued to the insides of her hoodie pockets. There was suddenly an intense, sharp sting in her shoulder; she yelled out in pain, her head snapped up and was able to pull her hands away to defensively stroke her shoulder, it was only then that she realised she was bleeding. She turned around to see the pompous smirk of Victoria looking back at her.

"Calm the fuck down Max, I barely touched you." she said as though Max were making a big deal out of nothing, but a small bloody pen knife turned over in her perfectly manicured fingers. She turned and walked in the other direction with her loyal followers in tow.

"What the fuck...?" Max murmured under her breath. She would have felt bad for Victoria being such a tired cliché if she wasn't such a vicious bitch, but this was the first time she had done anything that could be described as violent. She lifted her hand again to see the damage: the wound was small but deep, she did what she could to stop the blood from her shoulder adding to the trail she had already left on the floor. Rolling her eyes, she continued moving forward. The music paused while her phone chimed, and she forced it out of her back pocket.

Chloe: _That fucking cunt is going to pay. If you don't kill David, I'll kill you. That's a promise._

Max stopped dead in her tracks. What the hell? She didn't give a shit if Chloe was having a petty little spat with her step-dad, threatening her so-called 'best friend' was way out of line. She pulled up the keyboard on her phone.

Max: _Jesus Christ Chloe, that was seriously fucking uncalled for. We'll talk later, but never say something like that to me again. I'm being serious._

Just as she was about to put her phone away, it chimed again.

Chloe: _You are such a fucking bitch, Max. If I see you again I will take one of step-dick's guns and shove it up your ass. :) (yes emoji)_

Why was Chloe being like this? Coming from her best friend of so many years, this really hurt. She didn't reply and stuffed her phone back into her pocket. The music started up again, but the volume was loud enough to make her gasp and rip her headphones out of her ears. She quickly paused the song and peered at the earpieces. Blood, a lot of it. She could feel it dripping out of her ears. She looked at the screen to see what the hell the song was but it was impossible to read. She put her headphones away.

Max looked up again when she knew she was approaching her locker and was un-surprised to see Warren casually leaning next to it, looking at something on his phone. His eyes brightened when he saw her, as they always did. It astounded her that she was able to have that effect on anyone. Something was off, it was as though he hadn't even noticed the blood, which struck Max as strange. No one else had either for that matter. Was this normal? She didn't know. She decided to put it out of her mind, despite the deep stinging pain in her shoulder.

"Mad Max!" he greeted with a grin, swinging his bag off his shoulder and rooting around inside. It suddenly occurred to Max that he was probably returning her copy of _Brave New World._ "I finished it last night," He said as he handed it back.

"And? What did you think?"

"My new bible. Definitely my new favourite of the genre." he laughed, "Thank you so much for letting me read it."

"You're welcome?" she smiled, raising an eyebrow, "But 'bible'? I don't think I'd go that far, it's just sci-fi dude. But you have open access to my library as long as I have access to yours."

"But of course!" he grinned again, but this time there was something off-putting about the way he bared his teeth at her; when he stopped smiling his features relaxed but Max could still see that his eyes had darkened. This was the first time he'd ever made her feel even slightly uncomfortable. His demeanour had changed completely, she suddenly felt intimidated. "By the way Max, you're getting blood fucking everywhere."

"Oh, yeah, I know. Sorry." she breathed shakily, "Some weird ass song made my ears bleed, Victoria stabbed me, and... I can't remember what I walked through. Sorry Warren, I'm not feeling great, I'm gonna head to the nurses's office." She began to walk away when he suddenly grabbed her bloody shoulder and slammed her into the lockers. She looked at him, too frightened to say anything or even yell out in pain; instead she tried to read his expression, trying to predict what the hell he was thinking or what he was going to do. She glanced around in panic, silently willing someone to help her but no one seemed to notice what was happening. It was as though they weren't even there; like people weren't noticing on purpose.

He pressed his body against hers, trapping her between him and the lockers, she could feel his breath hot in her face. One hand remained on her shoulder while the other trailed from her stomach down to the button on her jeans, unzipping her fly and sliding into her panties.

"Warren what the fuck are you doing? S-stop!" she hissed, trying to push him away. Every time she so much as moved her arm he jammed his spare thumb into the wound on her shoulder, making her freeze and yelp in pain. She could feel him rubbing slowly between her legs; using his fingers to explore deeper. There was no rhythm or pattern to what he was doing; he didn't seem to have any desire to get her off, or even get himself off. She was as confused and embarrassed as she was angry, an anger of which was growing by the second. Her face was glowing red and her heart was beating out of her chest. Looking into his eyes hurt too much; she didn't even recognise him. He would never do something like this to her, or so she had thought.

He let go suddenly and she gasped, feeling like she had been holding her breath for the duration. She stared into him, wishing to burn him with her eyes. His gaze wasn't intimidating anymore; he looked confused himself. Max, ignoring her throbbing shoulder, threw herself at him and pushed him to the ground, doing her best to beat the ever-loving-shit out of him.

"Max what the fuck are you doing?!" he yelled, his confusion evident in his voice, "Please! Max!"

Max didn't stop, not until she felt herself being pulled away. She didn't know by who. Someone else helped Warren up. She glanced around to see that they had an audience.

" _NEVER FUCKING DO THAT AGAIN!"_ she screamed at him, wanting her words to hurt. He looked equally upset.

"Max what are you talking about?!" he yelled back, "What did I do?!"

"You know what you fucking did! You fucking touched me! That's sexual assault! How could you do that to me?! I thought you liked me, you fucking asshole!" she cried. His eyes widened and he shook his head.

"What are you talking about?!" he said in disbelief, "I'd never do anything to hurt you, you know that!"

"Then why the fuck would you-..." Max glanced down at her fly; it was up. She hadn't done it- he definitely hadn't done it.

Could she have possibly imagined it? She could still feel him invading her; she could still feel his breath on her face. But looking at his face now- a mixture of hurt, confusion and innocence washed over his features- she didn't know what to believe. If it hadn't really happened, then that would mean she was going crazy. That wasn't possible.

She pulled herself away from whoever was holding her back and sank back down to the ground, unable to hold back her tears. Warren knelt next to her- she wanted to tell him to stay away but she noticed that his hands were clean; no blood from her shoulder from when he'd slammed her against the lockers. She also noticed in her blind anger that'd she'd managed to scratch him across the cheek, one long thin line of red.

"Sorry..." she murmured, then pushed her head gently into his chest. She hadn't imagined that she'd be the one apologising. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around her.

"What's going on?" he asked quietly, trying to will the crowd of onlookers away with his eyes.

"Nothing... You didn't do anything... Maybe I'm just woozy from the blood loss." she said quietly. There was still too much running through her mind, after whatever it was she just experienced she wasn't rushing to put all her trust in Warren again but he was at least there, even though she'd just attacked him. He pulled away and held her at arms length.

"Max... What blood?" he asked.

Max forced herself out of his grasp and backed up against the lockers. She stared down at her shoulder, ran her hands over her ears, looked at her shoes and down the hall for the trail of blood she was certain she had left behind. The wound wasn't there. No blood to be seen. When she didn't say anything Warren edged closer and placed a hand on her shoulder; it was a stark contrast from how he'd touched her before but there was still a sting in the familiarity, from a memory she wasn't even sure was real.

"I'm going to take you to the nurse." he said slowly. She didn't like his tone; it felt patronising, like he was questioning her sanity as well, that was too much for her.

"No. I'll go. I'll... go. I'll see you later, maybe." she said quickly, glaring at the floor as she picked her bag back up and basically ran down the hall.

People were still staring at her, she couldn't handle their judging eyes. If Warren hadn't touched her, then what had actually happened? What about Victoria stabbing her? She remembered the threats Chloe had sent her and checked her phone.

Chloe: _Can you do me a favour and tell David to pick up some eggs on his way home? He lost his phone and mom needs them for some cake. It's not like i'm gonna go get em lol._

Max: _Jesus Christ Chloe, that was seriously fucking uncalled for. We'll talk later, but never say something like that to me again. I'm being serious._

Chloe: _WTF Max? I only asked for eggs dude_

Chloe: _Max?_

So that was another thing she had apparently imagined. Max began to wonder how much of her day had actually been real. She stopped in front of the school clinic's doors and looked at her reflection: pale, heavy bags under her eyes, hair a mess, but no blood. She felt the urge to slap herself, but ignored it with a sigh and pushed the door open.

* * *

Max walked down the hall, the faces of her peers passing like a blur. It was busy, she could tell, even though her head was cast downwards and all she could see through her dishevelled strands of hair were the bloody tips of her sneakers. She couldn't remember why exactly it was, but her feet were saturated in red. She glanced backwards to see her footprints were barely visible in the glistening sea of scarlet under the fluorescent lights. Someone really must have been hurt bad if everyone was walking through blood, Samuel should get on it before someone slipped. Was this normal? She couldn't remember. She felt like she wanted to be sick, maybe it was something she had eaten? Her headphones screamed loudly in her ears, it sounded like knives grinding mixed with people screaming. She wasn't even sure she knew the song, maybe Chloe had dowloaded it at some point? Was it even a song at all? She winced, she could feel it, the sharp noise eating at her mind. As she was considering changing it over, she suddenly felt someone press a knife into her shoulder until she could feel the blade scrape against her bone. She yelled out in pain, her head snapped up and her hand defensively stroked her shoulder. She turned around to see the pompous smirk of Victoria looking back at her.

"Calm the fuck down Max." she said as though Max were making a big deal out of nothing, a small bloody pen knife turned over in her perfectly manicured fingers. She dropped the knife carelessly on the floor before extending her middle finger and laughing, walking away with her posse.

"What the fuck...?" Max murmured under her breath. She would have felt bad for Victoria being such a tired cliché if she wasn't such a vicious bitch. She was always being violent, at least, that's what she remembered, though she couldn't recall any specific examples. She lifted her hand off her shoulder to see the damage: the wound was long and deep, blood poured out adding to the mess that was already on the linoleum floor. Rolling her eyes, she continued moving forward, pressing her hand against the wound in a futile attempt to stop the blood. The music paused while her phone chimed, and she forced it out of her back pocket.

Chloe: _Take your finger out of your ass and kill David NOW._

Max stopped dead in her tracks. What the hell? That was fucking rude. She didn't give a shit if Chloe was having a petty little spat with her step-dad, taking it out on her so-called 'best friend' was way out of line. She pulled up the keyboard on her phone.

Max: _Fuck Chloe, that was uncalled for. We'll talk later, but never say something like that to me again. I'm being serious._

Just as she was about to put her phone away, it chimed again.

Chloe: _You are such a fucking bitch, Max. If I see you again I will take one of step-ass's guns and shove it up your ass. :) (yes emoji)_

Chloe: _I hate you. You self-entitled, talentless fucking brat. I sincerely hope, with all of my heart, that when you die (soon thank fuck), you die alone and depressed._

Chloe: _Should've stayed in Seattle, bitch. You might have lived longer._

Why was Chloe being like this? Coming from her best friend of so many years, this really hurt, more than her shoulder. Her stomach sank and she suddenly found that she was unable hold back the tears. She didn't reply and stuffed her phone back into her pocket. The music started up again, the volume startled her, loud enough to make her gasp and rip her headphones out of her ears. She quickly paused the song and peered at the earbuds. Blood, loads of it. She could feel it pouring out of her ears. She peered at the screen to see what the hell the song was but the words 'No mosh pit for you, shaka brah' stared back at her in a spiky black font. Was this Chloe after all? She put her headphones away. Raising a hand to her ears she observed the amount of blood: they had appeared to stop bleeding but she could still feel some running down her neck. She swiped at her eyes with her sleeve, pushing away the tears. She'd talk this out with Chloe later, she told herself.

She looked up again when she knew she was approaching her locker and was un-surprised to see Warren casually leaning next to it, looking at something on his phone. He was one of the only people in the hall who wasn't covered in blood. This struck her as odd. His eyes brightened when he saw her, as they always did. It astounded her that she was able to have that effect on anyone. Something in her body felt that she needed to keep her distance though; like her amygdala was being set off (ironically something Warren had explained to her once: the part of the brain that regulates fear). She approached cautiously, but as soon as she was in range he pulled her into his arms for a hug anyway.

"There's the Maxter!" he greeted, once he pulled away she noticed that his white t-shirt had been stained with red where the side of his chest had connected with her shoulder. It didn't phase him; neither did her tear-stained face, apparently. Max couldn't help but feel a little upset at this, she usually went to Warren when she was sad because he was always so sweet and sympathetic and always knew how to make her smile. Today though, he seemed to want to pretend that everything was fine. He swung his bag off his shoulder and rooted around inside. It occurred to Max that he was probably returning her copy of _Brave New World._ "I finished it last night," He said as he handed it back.

"And? What did you think?"

"Full of shit." he smirked "Thanks for letting me read it anyway."

"You're welcome." she smiled, raising an eyebrow, "I thought you'd like it, sorry. Anyway, you have open access to my library as long as I have access to yours."

"But of course!" he grinned again, but his face fell as his eyes glanced between her shoulder and ears. "That's not normal." Warren frowned.

Max's heart started beating faster. It wasn't? Why had she been acting like it was? Why hadn't he said anything until now?

"W-what about all the blood on the floor?" she asked with a small raspy voice.

"David Madsen." Warren sighed. When Max didn't reply he continued. "Someone slit his throat and left his body in the fountain. Must be a plumbing problem because it's completely overflowing, I guess everyone's been treading it in from outside." he shrugged. "The only reason I avoided it was because I was in extra early helping out Ms Grant."

"Teacher's pet." she laughed weakly, at least that explained the blood on the floor, for the most part. There was still too much of it around the hall, being trailed in and out of all the rooms and pooling in dark corners. She also had the strange feeling that Warren was being too nonchalant about the whole situation. "Who killed him?"

"I wouldn't know. I guess we'll find out soon, though." he turned his attention back to her shoulder, "Did Victoria stab you? She's been doing that a lot lately. I'd head to the nurse if I were you."

"Thanks, I'll do that now." Max nodded and he walked away with his hands in his pockets, slipping on the blood as he did. Smooth, as ever. It appeared that her previous nerves about him were unfounded.

She turned to her locker and entered the combination. Once she had it open she staggered back slightly: her locker was full of photos of Kate. Kate looking happy, smiling and beaming at the camera. Kate looking sad, crying or frowning. Kate looking vacant, as though she wasn't aware of the camera. Kate changing, either for gym or into her pyjamas. Kate in the shower, the camera angled from above as she washed herself without a care in the world.

She slammed her locker shut before anyone else saw. What the fuck? Who would stalk Kate, and why put the photo's in her locker?

"Do you like them?" she heard a small voice behind her, and swivelled around to see Kate Marsh herself standing there. "I hired Nathan to take them. I thought you'd like them."

Max glanced back at her closed locker before staring back at Kate.

"Why would you...?" she asked, her voice trailing. A million questions ran through her mind and she didn't know which one to ask first.

"For you. I did this for you." Kate said, her voice barely a whisper as she gently placed her hands on Max's neck and pulled her down to kiss her. Max's eyes widened and she stared straight ahead; Kate was kissing her with an honest passion, her eyes were gently closed and there was a light blush on her face. Max didn't move, she didn't kiss back but she was too stunned to push away. Kate broke off with a light sigh.

"Kate, what the fu-..." Max began to say but Kate pushed a finger to her lips.

"I know. Two girls... I know it's a sin."

"No, seriously Kate what the fuck?!" she exclaimed trying to control the volume of her voice. Kate sighed again, giving Max a sympathetic yet self-satisfied smile.

"I'll come by your room later." she whispered, then left before Max could say anything else.

Max pulled out her phone; her first reflex whenever anything fucked up happened was to tell Chloe, but her hand stilled when she remembered their last exchange. She brought up Warren's number instead and put the phone to her ear.

" _Hello?"_ he answered almost instantly.

"Warren. Something really fucking weird just happened."

" _What? What was it?"_

"Kate just ki... She had all these photos of herself in my..." For some reason she was finding it too difficult to say out loud; it felt too much like a lie.

" _Kate? What?"_ He was clearly confused. " _Max do you want me to just walk back up the hall because if I turn around I'd probably still be able to see you_."

"... I'll tell you later, Warren, sorry, just go to class. I'm gonna go to the nurse's office."

" _Right. Take care, okay? I'll come find you later."_ and with that he hung up.

Max lowered her phone and glanced around; what the hell was going on? The blood, Victoria, Chloe's message's, her headphones and now Kate? The crowd was getting thinner, Max felt as though she were sticking out like a sore thumb but no-one was paying her any attention. Something about today didn't feel real, it felt more like a dream (or more appropriately, a nightmare) but she couldn't remember it ever being different to this. She couldn't remember much at all, she found. Just snapshots of memories that proved Chloe, Warren and Kate were important to her but nothing about how they usually behaved together. Did Kate usually kiss her? Did Chloe usually threaten her? Was she usually afraid of Warren? She didn't know anymore. She was feeling increasingly dizzy from the blood loss and had to stop herself from sliding down the lockers. That colour, the scarlet, swiped all over the floor and reflected in people's faces, and that smell, unnaturally metallic, forced it's way up her nose. She needed to get out, go outside, get some air. She pushed herself away from the lockers with an exaggerated effort and staggered towards the main doors. She never wanted to walk down that hall again.

* * *

Max walked down the hall, the faces of her peers passing like a blur. It was busy, she could tell, even though her head was cast downwards and all she could see through her dishevelled strands of hair were the muddy tips of her sneakers. She pushed her headphones into her ears to drown out the chatter, but her they wouldn't play anything but white noise; maybe her long nights of listening to Alice Cooper on full blast (her dad would be proud) to stay awake while studying had finally done them in. She frowned at the earpieces and stuffed them back into her pocket. She continued walking, keeping her gaze on the floor.

Max didn't realise until she bumped into someone, but everyone had stopped walking. She stopped too, slowly raising her head. She could tell that everyone was facing her by the positioning of their feet. She glanced at the person she had just bumped into: Juliet Watson, looking completely vacant and barely blinking as she stared down at her. No one would take their eyes off her. She couldn't see anyone blink, she couldn't even hear anyone breathe. Max let out a careful, shaky breath of her own. All she wanted to do was run, but she was too scared to move. Their eyes were following her every slight motion, what would they do if she made a break for it? It seemed like too much of a risk. She recalled her mom telling her about the time she was surrounded by a pack of wild dogs in her teens: she was paralysed by fear but managed to edge away from them by moving extremely slowly. That story always terrified her when she was a kid, but now her situation seemed worse. Her phone suddenly buzzed, she flinched at the noise as it echoed loudly in the silence. She pulled it out of her pocket without taking her eyes off the silent crowd and held it level with her eyes. Chloe had sent her an image.

Max stared in disbelief. Chloe and Warren. Chloe and Warren cuddling on her bed, Warren with his lips pressed against her collar bone and Chloe grinning at the camera.

She didn't know how to feel. She was angry, livid even, but above all she was confused: the two of them had barely even met. She liked to think that she knew them both well, well enough to know that they did not belong together. Not only because Chloe (while she had a few amusing stories about her past as a bro-killer) was totally and undeniably gay, but they just didn't fit. She sucked in a sharp breath through her nose, trying not to make a noise and trying not to cry, but she felt her eyes welling up with tears anyway; Chloe knew how she felt about Warren. Her fingers brought up the keypad on her phone, she frantically typed out the start of several messages before giving up and dialling Chloe's number.

"Chloe, what the fuck!? Is Warren there?!" she hissed into the receiver, glancing over the statuesque crowd.

" _Max I want you to listen to me."_ Chloe started, sounding far more serious than Max had anticipated, " _Pretend you don't see them._ "

"...What?" Max asked, her voice hushed.

" _They want you to react. Don't react. Don't believe what you see._ "

"Who are 'they'?"

" _Can't you hear them, Max?"_

"Chloe what the fuck is going on?"

" _You're losing it, Max._ " and with that, she hung up.

What was Chloe talking about? Who wanted her to react? She put her phone back down and looked up again.

Something had changed: everyone looked angry at her. What did she do? Had they heard her talking? She thought back to her mom and the wild dogs, and swallowing harshly she began to edge her way around the crowd; slowly and carefully. Their angry eyes continued to follow her, but no one took a step.

 _Can't you hear them, Max?_

There was a yell in the distance: a sharp shriek. Then another one, noticeably closer than before. She began to move faster, trying her best to keep her nerves from shattering further. She could hear footsteps now, quick and sharp, coming from the hall behind her.

 _Can't you hear them, Max?_

She began to run; she didn't care anymore. Whatever was coming up behind her had to be worse than the hoard of vacant students. She tried to push through the crowd but they were all rooted to the floor; she wasn't moving fast enough. She could hear the footsteps getting louder and closer, and heavy animalistic breathing. She fell to the floor, trying to crawl through people's legs in an attempt to get away faster.

Whoever was after her was right behind her. She couldn't turn around; she had to keep going, even though she was sure that her pursuer was just playing with her now, just watching as she tried to scramble away.

She felt hands tighten around her ankles.

 _Don't react. Don't believe what you see._

She felt the hands pulling at her, dragging her back down the hall.

 _You're losing it, Max._

She blacked out.

* * *

Max stared down the dark, empty hall in confusion. Where was everyone? What happened to the lights? There were no windows in the hall, not leaving much hope for any natural light. The bell had just rang, it should have been teeming with people. She took a couple of steps forward, they both echoed deafeningly in the thick silence, then glanced back at the classroom she had just left; granted she was the last to exit but her teacher should still be in there. She wasn't. She tried the door. It was locked.

Had she lost time? Had she accidentally come in on a day school was meant to be closed? That couldn't be right- she had definitely been sitting in class bored out of her mind for the past hour. She started walking quickly towards the main doors; looking around frantically for someone, anyone.

Main doors: locked.

School office: locked.

All classrooms: locked.

Backdoors: locked.

Custodian's closet: locked.

"What the fuck...?" she muttered to herself, pulling out her phone: it was on with full service and full battery. She sighed in relief: she could live another day without becoming a horror film cliché. She pulled up Warren's number- if it really was 10am on a Week 2 Friday as her phone confirmed then he should be on his way to English. She dialled, it rang.

And rang.

No answer.

She frowned and tried again.

It rang once, then went straight to voicemail. Did Warren just ignore her call? She left a message anyway, saying something light-hearted about how she thought she was going crazy and was locked in the school. In reality she was a lot more frightened. She approached the girl's bathroom and was surprised to find that it was unlocked. Letting out another relieved sigh, she walked in; maybe she would be able to squeeze through the window and get out that way.

It was dark in the restroom, and quiet. Deathly quiet. She could tell it was light outside but the window had been painted over in a thick layer of black acrylic paint. Maybe someone really wanted their privacy? She flicked the light switch a couple of times but nothing happened. Groaning, she paced towards the window, her only source of hope in that moment. It was locked, but she felt that she could easily fit through if she stood on a bucket or something. She knew there was an emergency hammer for the fire alarm somewhere in there, but wondered if she would get suspended for smashing a window, given her current situation. She didn't care: she was beginning to feel claustrophobic in the building and just wanted to go outside. She spied the hammer, sitting on the lid of a large trash can by the stalls and reached for it, but it slid out of her hand, clattering on to the floor and under the nearest stall. She swallowed heavily before lowering herself down. She felt like the world was playing a cruel joke on her.

Kneeling on the floor, she could see the hammer was easy to reach, but something else caught her eye.

A pair of feet where hanging in front of the toilet, swinging very slightly back and forth. Max would recognise those shoes anywhere: there was no mistaking it, they were Kate's. So pristine and glossy that she refused to walk on the grass in them. Max slowly stood up, breathing inconsistently and blinking back tears. No. Not Kate. She wouldn't, Max thought as she slowly pushed the cubicle door open.

Kate was hanging limply from a rope tied to one of the pipes on the ceiling. Her face was white and had been drained of all life, her mouth was parted slightly and it was clear she had been coughing or struggling for breath from the foam dripping off her lips. Max hesitantly met Kate's eyes- wide open, raw and red. She whimpered and staggered backwards. This was too much.

She ran out of the bathroom; she needed to find someone to help. She didn't didn't know what the fuck was going on but she was too upset to think clearly, she could only work with what she had. Max pounded her fists on all the doors and screamed at the top of lungs for someone-anyone to come and help her. She pulled out her phone again and dialled Dana's number. Maybe she'd respond.

Nothing.

Alyssa?

No answer.

Brooke?

Like she'd even answer on a normal day.

She even tried 911 but the call would never seem to connect. She finally decided to try Chloe- sure she didn't live on campus but maybe she could get David to help. Max heard a click as the phone was picked up.

"Chloe! Are you there?!" She gasped into the phone, her heart beating with hope and anticipation.

"..."

"Chloe...?"

"..."

"Please Chloe say something!" Max cried into her phone, "Please I'm so scared! Please!"

*beep*

The call disconnected.

Max sank to the ground, her phone slid out of her hands. There was nothing else she could do. She was too scared to go back into the bathroom, despite it being her only possible way out. She just didn't have the nerve. All she could do was wait, and pray.

 _Kate..._

Her head fell into her lap and she held her eyes shut, another sob escaping her lips. Why would Kate do something like this? She had been perfectly happy that morning, when they were brushing their teeth together, exchanging the usual morning pleasantries. Was that even this morning? Max had no way of knowing for sure. She lifted her head, keeping her gaze on the girl's bathroom door.

Max stayed in the same spot for what seemed like an eternity, sending an endless string of texts to everyone in her contacts list. She came to the conclusion that this wasn't real; it couldn't be real, she was obviously dreaming. She pinched herself. She didn't know what she was expecting to happen when she did that, but was still disappointed when she didn't wake up in her warm, comfy bed.

Tap... Tap... Tap...

Footsteps. Max thought she was imagining it at first. Her initial reaction was relief: maybe everyone suddenly had to evacuate, and Max had missed it somehow, and someone had come back to find her. She began to feel uneasy, though, when she realised that the steps were too slow, too nonchalant. She stayed frozen on the floor, but didn't call out. She wanted to see who it was before she attempted to call out to them.

Tap... Tap... Tap...

As they came closer she glanced around in all directions- there wasn't a soul in sight. She could hear the sound coming from all around her, and they sounded so close. She began to panic, breathing heavily, coughing out another sob and whimpering before screaming out into the darkness, asking who the fuck was there. She was answered with a sharp sting in her neck, and was only able to see the needle leaving her skin and a tall figure in the darkness before her consciousness slipped away.

* * *

Red. All she could see was red. The hall resembled an abattoir, with what Max hoped was paint spattered all over the lockers and ceiling, and collecting in a pool on the floor. No one seemed to care. Her eyes snapped around the hall, silently pleading for someone else to notice it, to reaffirm that she wasn't going insane. No one did. Despite being ankle deep in red, people were walking through confidently as though it wasn't even there. Max sucked in a deep breath and proceeded down the hall; maybe she was tired. Stressed, even, and couldn't trust her eyes. Her imagination was playing tricks on her, she smirked to herself. What an imagination she had.

She couldn't help but feel like she was walking slower than everyone else, she was the only one who looked like she was was wading through the scarlet pool on the floor, and her peers didn't hide their confused looks. Max didn't care though; each movement she made was beginning to echo in her mind, slowing her down even more. She focused on her breathing, trying to steady it, but found she had to force it out of her lungs.

Her phone chimed- she took that as an excuse to stop and take a break. Tugging it out of her pocket she narrowed her eyes at the small screen, trying to focus on it with an exaggerated effort.

Chloe: _Thanks :)_

What was Chloe thanking her for? What did she do? Max scrolled up to see their last exchange: just a dumb conversation about what they were going to do over the weekend. Max couldn't be bothered to ask her to clarify; it really didn't seem to matter. She pushed forward, keeping her gaze on her feet and trying to keep her balance, she only looked up again when she knew she was approaching her locker.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Warren leaning next to it- she'd never been so happy to see him, and couldn't help but call his name and run into his arms for one of his signature hugs.

"M-Max!" he coughed out, the breath being knocked out of him by her sudden attack. He looked at her with a small blush on his face. "...How's it going?" he said. He didn't seem to know what else to say.

"Can you see it?" she whispered with her arms still locked around his neck, staring straight into his eyes. He backed up a bit.

"See what? D-damn, Max, you look intense." he tried to laugh but it sounded uneasy.

"You don't?" she sniffed, "Am I really going crazy?"

"Max... What are you talking about?"

"Tell me I'm okay." she whispered, "Please, Warren, just tell me I'm okay."

"You're okay." he soothed, "You're here, you're fine."

"R-really?" she sighed again, pressing her forehead against his, holding her eyes shut. "Can you get me out of here?"

"Sure, of course," he began shuffling, pulling away from the lockers keeping his arms braced around her. Max winced, she could still hear the sound of the liquid rushing under their feet, and she could still feel it leaking into her shoes. She wanted so badly for it all to just _go_.

Before they could leave, Max suddenly felt a sharp pain in her side and let out a restrained cry. Spinning around, she flailed in the direction of her attacker and was greeted with Victoria's bemused smirk.

"Vic-... What the fuck?!" she yelled, "Why the fuck would you...?!"

"Jesus Christ Max, calm the fuck down." Victoria scoffed.

"'CALM DOWN?!' You fucking _stabbed_ me!" Max screamed hysterically, hunching over and clutching at her side.

"Max..." Warren began calmly, taking Max by surprise. He bent down to her level and looked her in the eye, his face uncomfortably close to hers.

"She stabbed me..." she said again, as though she wanted him to do something about it.

"Max..." He said again, this time there was a hint of humour in his voice, "You did the same to Madsen."

Max glared at him. "What the hell are you talking about? Can you please just call an ambulance or I don't know, someone who can help... Please."

"The blood. The blood on the floor. It's because of you, Max. You killed him. You killed David Madsen because your punk-ass friend told you to." he spoke quickly and his tone was soft, but the words still stung. She didn't want to stay and listen to his accusations but she felt as though she couldn't move. Her head was throbbing and she was bleeding heavily out of the wound on her side. She couldn't hold her gaze straight, but pushed away from Warren anyway, standing upright with a slight groan. She glanced between Warren and Victoria, standing in the red, staring at her without an ounce of emotion of the their faces. She looked at the other students, also silent and staring, but some were giggling and filming the event on their phones. Why was no one helping here? Her own phone chimed again.

"Get your phone, Max." Warren said placidly, as though it were simple. She was pressing both hands against her side and kept her head hung. "Get your phone." he repeated. She didn't like his tone; this was a certain level of assertiveness she wasn't used to hearing from him, and feeling intimidated by him felt entirely wrong. She sucked in a breath and slowly pulled her phone out of her back pocket, eyes scrolling over the message.

Kate: _Look in your locker ;)_

She slowly turned to look at the blood covered lockers: she could still tell which one was hers, though. Not wanting to see Warren's empty eyes again she staggered towards it and entered her combination, swinging the door open.

Kate's lifeless blue and purple body had been crammed inside Max's locker. Her mouth was agape and her eyes were wide open: red, dry and bulbous. Her limbs had been bent and contorted to fit inside the small space.

Max fell backwards, wincing as she slammed into the hard floor. There was a small splash as she fell into the blood, and she frantically tried to wipe it off her hands with her blood-soaked hoodie. She slowed when she glanced back at the locker, but her breathing picked up and her heart started to beat erratically. Her phone chimed again, the sound ringing loudly in her ears. The ringing wouldn't stop; it felt like something was eating at her mind and whatever was left of her sanity.

Kate: _Do you like it? I hired Nathan to do it._

Kate: _I did it for you._

Max threw her phone at the ground, letting it disappear into the blood. She backed up against the opposite row of lockers, unable to take her eyes off of Kate's lifeless, twisted body. The noise in her ears persisted and they began to ache, she could feel something leaking out of them. She lifted a hand to her head to investigate but it was futile as she was already covered in blood. Max barely registered it when Warren dropped to his knees next to her and started running his hands over her trembling body.

"Stop..." She could hardly speak. If he heard, he didn't listen. He kept running his hands up and down her waist, over her chest and then in-between her thighs. She felt numb, and she could feel her vision darkening and was battling to stay awake. She flinched at Warren's touch, trying to push him away. This wasn't Warren, she reassured herself, if Warren was really here he'd go out of his way to help her.

"Do you want to do it, or should I?"

Max's vision was blurring, but there was no mistaking Chloe's voice or the flash of blue she could now see standing in front of her. Chloe was there, next to another tall figure.

"I guess you can this time." the figure finally spoke. Mr Jefferson? Max stiffened, he was meant to be in jail. What the hell was he doing with Chloe?

Chloe slowly crouched down to her level and Warren stilled his hands but didn't pull away.

In the presence of her very closest friends, she should have felt safe, she should have felt happy. She looked around her, trying to make sense of her situation and trying to make it right, but she couldn't deny the fact that she was sitting in blood, she couldn't deny what Warren had just been doing to her and she couldn't ignore Kate's deathly gaze from her locker. She noticed that Victoria was standing with Mr Jefferson, watching calmly as Chloe reached into her pocket. The crowd of students had only gotten thicker, but were mostly silent save for some amused murmuring.

Chloe pulled the cap off the needle she was now holding. Max couldn't fight back anymore. She didn't know what they were planning on injecting her with, she was losing consciousness rapidly anyway. She wanted to ask but her mouth couldn't form any coherent words, it just sounded like pathetic whimpers.

"You shouldn't be so trusting, you know." Chloe spoke kindly as she slipped the needle into Max's neck, and the darkness finally took over.

* * *

Warren collapsed against the lockers and tugged his phone out of his pocket. He felt as though the day had already been too long, but second period hadn't even started yet. He knew Max usually stopped by her locker before a study period so he figured he'd take the opportunity to return her book. He, of course, took every opportunity to see Max, no matter how small. He glared at his phone screen: 17 email alerts about comments left on an argument he was having on Reddit. Someone was not a fan of his take on the 9/11 conspiracy theories.

Glancing up, he spied Max. His eyes followed her for a drawn out moment before attempting to call out to her; she looked entirely vacant and disoriented. Her feet weren't carrying her properly, it was as though she were walking on her ankles, stumbling from side to side and bumping into nearly everyone around her. He didn't notice until she got closer but blood was running out of her nose and dripping on to the floor, and her eyes were repeatedly snapping between her feet and the ceiling. He called out to her a second time, moving forward to hold her still. As soon as he put his arms around her she seemed to give up on using her legs and fell into him, pulling him down to his knees with her. He felt her phone buzz from her pocket, and she muttered Chloe's name.

"Do you want me to check it?" he asked, panicked. She shook her head furiously, as though she were terrified of what it could say. "Shit Max, I'm calling an ambulance." still holding his phone, he dialled 911 with one arm and held her upright with the other. As he yelled into the phone he realised that they'd gained a leering audience: any concern was drowned out by curiosity. He also noticed that Max was simultaneously trying to pull him closer and push him away and he couldn't stop her from slipping from his grasp, luckily Kate pushed through the crowd to help him hold her up.

"Warren what happened?!" she exclaimed, taking a napkin out of her pocket and swiping at Max's nose.

"I don't know, an ambulance is on it's way," he told her. Max's eyelids fluttered at the sound of Kate's voice, brief looks of fear and confusion washed over her face. Her eyes then trailed over to Warren, focusing on him for a few seconds. She looked hurt, and tearful, but sick too.

"Please help me..." she forced out. "Get me out of here..."

"Max, an ambulance will be here any minute, just stay still until then," Warren reassured her, putting a hand to her forehead and observing her eyes- putting his basic first aid training to use. He felt her phone buzz again. "I'm going to check your phone, okay?"

Chloe: _Can you do me a favour and tell David to pick up some eggs on his way home? He lost his phone and my mom needs them for some cake. It's not like i'm gonna go get em lol._

Chloe: _Maaaaaaaaaaaaaax?_

Warren hesitated: he didn't know Chloe well but he knew that she would want to know if Max was sick. He looked to Kate.

"Should I tell Chloe?" he asked and she nodded, busying herself with Max's bloody quickly typed that Max needed to go to the hospital and Chloe replied immediately, saying she'd meet them all there.

He didn't know how to describe Max's condition. She was lying limply in Kate's arms, breathing erratically with her eyes dropped to the floor. Her feet were twitching and her nose was still bleeding heavily. Her complexion was white with deep circles around her eyes. Above everything, she looked terrified. He wanted to comfort her, tell her she was safe, but every slight movement he made towards her made her flinch. She didn't seem comfortable with Kate either, it looked like she was doing her best to shrink away but her body wouldn't let her.

"Max, what happened to you?" Kate asked quietly, then looked back up at Warren, "She was fine earlier."

"Just get me out of here..." Max breathed again, before slipping away completely.

* * *

A/N

Hey people! Wow this ended up long. I know I'm not the best writer but I hope you enjoyed.

I'm very aware that this is not an original idea (especially in this fandom) but I've been wanting to do something like this for a while. The main inspiration for me was that Silent Hills demo that was out a couple of years back? I dunno if anyone played it. Basically you keep walking around the same place and everything just keeps getting worse. Also a bit of corpse party, if anyone knows what I mean.

Peace.


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